Before we leave the Marriott, I should point out that this hotel has a lot of history behind it. The main area where we eat breakfast and where the reception desks are located among other things was built in 1869. The ruler of Egypt at that time, Ismail Pasha, ordered the construction of a Royal Palace to use for celebrating the finish of building the Suez Canal. He copied many elements in this Palace that were found in Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie’s Palace as he wanted the Empress to be comfortable in Egypt when she visited. Why Paul, Jennifer, or I did not take photos of the inside of this Palace or of the small courtyard in front of it I do not know. You will just have to take our word for it that the interior of the Palace was beautiful with its period furniture and grand staircases. The small courtyard was pretty too. The Royal Palace changed hands numerous times over the years until Marriott purchased it in the 1980’s. They added two towers that stand on either side of the Palace where guests stay.

    We board the bus this morning and on our way to the airport we are going to visit a historic Mosque.  While driving down the thoroughfare, our driver brakes to a stop and begins backing up. Everyone in our group is a bit stunned, and I hear murmurs like “what is he doing” and I think I say out loud, “why is he backing up”? Hussein begins laughing and informs us that the driver thought we were going straight to the airport and hence he missed the turn that leads to the Mosque. So, in this country, I guess it is okay to back up fifty or so yards to get to the turn that you drove by. The road we are on is a main avenue but the traffic is light compared to what we have seen and oddly enough I do not remember anyone honking their displeasure at us.

    The bus driver parks on a busy street, and we must walk down a narrow street to the mosque. This mosque has been historically preserved and is not used for worship. My main memory from this experience is that Hussein has us sit down on some chairs that are arranged in a half-circle while he talks about the history of the mosque. There are three half-grown kittens that decide people’s laps look much more comfortable than the floor they had been lying on or the kitties are hoping for something to eat. Unfortunately, the kittens are constantly scratching themselves, (can you say fleas), and their eyes and noses are a bit runny. Needless to say, no one wants them on their laps. The felines jumped up on four or five members of our group, who pushed them off their legs or laps quickly. The rest of us were not selected for the kittens’ attentions I am thankful to say. Poor little things, but the last thing one needs is a bite from a dog or a cat in Egypt or in other foreign countries where access to a rabies shot is not going to be easy to obtain.

    On our walk back to the bus there is another Mosque where worship is held that we are going to visit. When we arrive at the Mosque, I whisper to Hussein that I need to go back to the bus, (the bus is in sight of where we are standing) to take some of the medicine he gave me yesterday for my digestive problem. I brought the standard medicine with me but Hussein had told us in our initial meeting to take his medicine if we became afflicted as it works better than ours. Hussein informs me that he will call the driver to alert him to open the bus door for me. Was this caused by Caesar salad I ate for supper the night before last?  After swallowing the pills, I stay on the bus and take a little nap while awaiting the return of the group. When they get back Paul tells me that the main thing I missed was a man that sang for them in the Mosque.

    We arrive at the airport and must go through security as soon as we walk through the airport door. Men and women are separated into different queues because everyone is patted down, even though we do not set off the metal detector. We check in and receive our tickets, and check our big suitcases through to Luxor. We go through another security check, this time taking off our shoes and belts. Hussein leads us to our departure gate, where he hands us sacked lunches. Yikes, cold, mushy, fries and a hotdog type sandwich which is not warm either. I really do not want to eat anyway but choke a few fries down and two bites of the sandwich. Paul does not do much better than me, and I notice most everyone visits the waste can fairly quickly after receiving their lunch.

    Since we all checked in individually, none of us are sitting together on the plane for the hour plus flight. Once we land, Hussein leads us to the luggage claim. When the luggage shows up everyone points out their suitcases for the porters, who pile them onto carts. Hussein calls out “Follow me” and we trail our guide to the waiting coach. Yes, we have another security guard with us also dressed in a suit. In case you are wondering, our security guards are packing a pistol, but unless you really look it is hardly noticeable.

   Gazing out the bus window, my first impression of Luxor is clean air, no crazy traffic or constant honking, the streets seem devoid of garbage and there is a wide walkway along the Nile. It looks like a very lovely city.

   We stop at the Luxor Temple ruins on the way to the hotel. There is an Avenue of Sphinx that stretches for 1.5 miles which connected Luxor Temple and Karnak. It is an astounding sight to behold. Hussein tells us that this sphinx avenue was used once a year for the Opet festival by the ancient Egyptians. I think this avenue was built over many decades by various pharaohs.

   Hussein gives us twenty minutes to walk down the avenue and admire the stately sphinx. Some of them hardly have any damage while others might not have any facial features left. It is hard to fathom that this sphinx lined avenue is thousands of years old.

    Hussein gathers us up and talks about the ruins of Luxor Temple that stands a few yards away from the avenue of the sphinx. I will not even attempt to relay any of the information that Hussein shared with us. Mainly because I cannot remember! The enormous, ornate, columns towering above us, makes me feel very small. As we move inside where areas of the temple are more protected, the painted scenes are remarkably preserved. We wander around looking at paintings, hieroglyphs, and stone columns on our own. After exploring the incredible temple ruins, we proceed to our hotel.

   We are staying at the Sofitel Winter Palace and it is beautiful. We gather around Hussein who hands out our room keys. Hussein leads us down a long hallway to show us where the breakfast buffet is, also pointing out the elevators to us as we walk by them.

   Paul, Jennifer, and I look around a bit then make our way to the elevator. There is a staff member there who opens the door and we step into the old lift. Paul and I have our backpacks on plus we are carrying some hand luggage so the three of us nearly fill the small elevator car. A couple walks up and decides there is room for them and now we are squeezed together to the point we can hardly move. The elevator man shuts the door behind us.

   When the elevator stops on the second floor which is where our rooms are, the elevator door does not open. The man pushes on the door, but nothing happens. Paul is stuck clear in the back and is unable to give any help. The guy starts punching buttons and soon we have arrived at the third floor. Again, the door does not open, and I believe it is Jennifer that tells the fellow to pick up the emergency phone and ask for help. 

    He does follow Jennifer’s advice but since he cannot hear or maybe does not understand the person on the phone, he hands the phone to me since I am closest to him. I tell the staff member we are in the elevator on the third floor, and we cannot get the door to open. The man informs me that someone will be there immediately. For some reason the man could not resist pushing another button while I am on the phone, and we are now going down to the first floor. Are you kidding me! Fortunately, there is a staff member waiting outside the elevator and he opens the door just like you would open the door to a room. Obviously, none of us paid any attention to how the door on the elevator worked when we got on the old lift. We exit as quickly as we can and the three of us vow to not set foot on that elevator again. I think we are all dealing with some claustrophobia.  Walking up two flights of stairs is no big deal even with our hand luggage, hey we need the exercise anyway. I do not remember thanking the man that rescued us which makes me feel bad.

    Tomorrow, we visit the Valley of the Kings. Nancy